Impact of Obesity on Fertility Can be Reversed

In a breakthrough discovery, researchers at the University of Adelaide have revealed how damage from obesity is passed from a mother to her children, and also how that damage can be reversed. The findings, by a team led by the University’s Robinson Research Institute, have major implications for the future of fertility research and are […]

In a breakthrough discovery, researchers at the University of Adelaide have revealed how damage from obesity is passed from a mother to her children, and also how that damage can be reversed.

The findings, by a team led by the University’s Robinson Research Institute, have major implications for the future of fertility research and are published in the journal Development.

“It’s now well established that obesity in females leads to very serious fertility problems, including the inability to conceive. Obesity can also result in altered growth of babies during pregnancy, and it permanently programs the metabolism of offspring, passing the damage caused by obesity from one generation to the next,” said lead author Associate Professor Rebecca Robker from the Robinson Research Institute.